For the Kids

October 6, 2015

I don’t know what to write about. I really don’t. I’m still thinking about guns.

This morning on NPR, there was commentary about Hillary’s just-announced position on gun violence and a set of measures she would propose as president designed to safeguard gun access, enforce certain kinds of common-sense regulations, yadda yad. All no brainers. All needed. The political analyst and the morning show host agreed that the only productive path to any gun law will be through executive action, because nothing is going to happen in congress… congress is just never going to pass any gun law. Executive action isn’t going to work either they agreed; congress will stop it.

I’m like what?! Why?

I’m not being naive and stupid. I am really asking. The NRA just cannot be THAT powerful. If some huge majority of the people want to see some action, and there really are some logical, limited measures we could implement that are utterly non controversial, how is it that congress really, really cannot do anything.

Like since the beginning of time they haven’t been able to do anything. I read an excerpt from a speech Robert Kennedy gave, in Roseburg, Oregon, of all places, just weeks or months before he was shot, nearly a half century ago, about the need to pass common sense gun laws. It literally sounded like any number of speeches given today. Seriously. Same stuff.

What is going on?

I get people and their sacred blippin’ second amendment. I get the strategy of slippery slope and not giving an inch. I get why the gun industry has no interest. I get why the NRA has no interest. But congress? I get the campaign finance realities, of course. You gotta dance with the industry lobbyist that brung ya. I understand all of this. Agree with none of it. But understand it.

But congress. A majority of people not able to influence their elected representatives? There has to be more to this.

What am I missing? Because I really do not get it. Especially NOW with the statistics so staggering, so heartbreaking, so embarrassing. So incontrovertible.

I’m prepared to give all kinds of money. Desperate to be a part of a never-before-seen groundswell of people who have just had it (again), who will finally wield their numbers, throw the bums out, influence and affect some movement on this.

But the NPR congressional correspondent dismissed congressional action out of hand. Like that’s never gonna happen.

What is that?

Here to tell you, guns are a shitty idea. They do very little to protect people. It’s a false security.

Adding untrained gun owners/carriers to a chaotic gun-violent scene will do nothing to help anybody. Teachers do not want to arm themselves. Priests and theater ticket takers do not want to arm themselves. I do not want to be in the same room where macho young men with fragile egos are drinking and carrying guns. I do not want to live in a gun state. This is beyond stupid.

I do not want to live in a society where everybody is carrying a gun. That makes me feel unsafe. It’s violent. It’s ugly. It’s all macho stupid insecure bravado. Does that not make you sick?

We have a quarter of a billion guns here. And the answer is more guns?

[I have a new theory, one that may explain why the NRA threats are so effective: the NRA is arming its revolutionary army. They are preparing to mount a political coup. Right? Make sense now? They threaten not only to pull campaign support if gun laws are tightened, but they threaten to overtake the government, the government they perceive as tyrannous. Whatta ya think?]

We are killing each other. More than anybody else is killing us. More than anywhere else in the modern, developed world.

People with mental illness are responsible for a lot of the mass shootings.. okay. But they AREN’T responsible for most of the gun deaths, however–those are just garden variety dangerous, angry, vindictive, impulsive, negligent people. Yes, we absolutely need to provide support and services for people with mental illness. But other countries who have the same percentage of people with mental illness don’t have the gun deaths we do. Guns are the root of the problem; not the mental illness.

More than anything we need to raise children in loving homes. Our money should go to supporting families and fellow humans who are suffering. We will be better off as a humane and compassionate society if we care for our people. Not take money out of social programs. Not give everybody more guns.

We have our priorities completely wrong. People have lost perspective.

…….gack!!!

How’d I do this again?

I’m going to bed.

Here is a nice, sweet picture to remind you of our priorities on this earth. We’re only here a little while. How about let’s just get peace and be in love with our kids?

They need us. They really do. It starts with the kids. And making sure they have peaceful, safe lives where they can love, be loved and do wonderful things is all that matters. They aren’t going to go off and kill anyone if we take proper care of them.

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2 Responses to “For the Kids”

Kari, I think this was one of your best blogs ever ! i heard r Kennedy’s speech replayed last night. Ironic that it was in roseberg,or. And he was booed and heckeled. More ironic that it was only 2 days before he was murdered. I too, just don’t understand why this is still an issue .

I realized this morning that I’ve written about gun violence numerous times! Each time, it’s a repeat of the despair and desperation. It’s either move or shut out the world. I am not up for the insanity of the fight, I’m really not. I’ll do what I can — send money, write in my blog, attend a vigil, march on the capital, testify at a committee hearing do my part to raise a good kid, put only good, peaceful energy into the world (I’ve done ALL of that) — but I’m fried by the stupidity and hopelessness of the fight. It hurts too much. I am so grateful for the people leading the charge, and deeply saddened by their motivations for doing it… most are in it because their children were murdered senselessly. But wow…. we are freakin’ powerless here. This has been going on for so long and where I had a moment of optimism a while back, I have none now. This battle is happening on a level inaccessible to us… it’s between a powerful, profit-motivated industry; a bought, corrupt government; and a complicit media. We do not stand a chance.

Me

About This Blog

I launched this blog in October of 2008 with a goal to "write" -- to refine technique, experiment with different styles, voices.. but I only posted sporadically. No experimenting was had.
So, for the entire 2011 year, I tried a different approach: I wrote every day using a "photo-a-day" device to prompt daily writing. It worked, but it became more of a "photo and daily commentary" kind of journal, and was a lot less about developing writing technique. Still no experimenting was had. I felt bad about this. Like I was cheating.
But I love the photos and commentary. It has been a fun way to document life, the seasons, my family, and who doesn't want one of those?
I took a break in 2012 and 2013... somewhat unintentionally... but now I'm going to return to a daily photo blog, this time unapologetically. Life of Wry is now a journally thing. No cutting edge writing, no experimentation, no risk taking, no vulnerability, just easy peasy breezy writing about what's going on in my and my family's life. And photos, lots of photos.
And that's that.
Thanks for stopping by.